


AkaYona Secret Santa - 25 Fics

by CharlieChaplin2



Category: Akatsuki no Yona | Yona of the Dawn
Genre: 25 Days of Fic, 25 Days of Fic-mas, 25 Ficlets, Akayona Secret Santa, Christmas prompts, Gen
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2015-12-25
Updated: 2017-01-06
Packaged: 2018-05-09 03:28:17
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 6
Words: 15,106
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5523746
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/CharlieChaplin2/pseuds/CharlieChaplin2
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>25 ficlets based on 25 Christmas Prompts!</p><p><em>Dec 1: Star</em><br/><em>Dec 2: Hot Chocolate</em><br/>Dec 3: Snow<br/><em>Dec 4: Candy Canes</em><br/><em>Dec 5: Christmas Tree</em><br/>Dec 6: Angel<br/>Dec 7: Pyjamas<br/>Dec 8: Tinsel<br/>Dec 9: Ice Skating<br/>Dec 10: Frost<br/>Dec 11: Eggnog<br/>Dec 12: Cider<br/>Decr 13: Peppermint<br/>Dec 14: Gingerbread<br/><em>Dec 15: Presents</em><br/>Dec 16: Fireplace<br/>Dec 17: Stocking<br/>Dec 18: Cookies<br/>Dec 19: Santa<br/>Dec 20: Sled<br/>Dec 21: Snow Man<br/>Dec 22: Jingle Bells<br/>Dec 23: Carols<br/>Dec 24: Icicle<br/>Dec 25: Christmas Movies</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. December 1: Star

**Author's Note:**

> December Prompts 1, 2, 4 and 5 are for [Lordlaven13](http://archiveofourown.org/users/Lordlaven13/pseuds/Lordlaven13)
> 
> December Prompt 15 is for [Uta-Chan-Meganekko](https://uta-chan-meganekko.tumblr.com/)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Zeno realises someone is missing from the tent. When he finds him, it reminds him of someone he knew long ago. 
> 
> Characters: Zeno, Shin Ah, Abi.

**December 1: Star**

 

As winter approached the air was growing colder, Zeno could feel it in his bones, soon there would be a nip to it that would bite at his nose and send little shivers running through him. Tonight was one of those clear nights where not a single cloud was present in the sky for the stars to hide behind, and even though it wasn’t quite winter just yet, it was cold enough to for him to wrap the blanket around him a little bit tighter and curl further into what he assumed was a sleeping Hakuryuu.

He was quick to realise, however, that something was amiss. Yona and Yun might share a tent a third of the size of the one allocated to the dragons and Hak, but even with the extra space there were still five fully grown men (including two very tall and broad ones) occupying it. When everyone was in there things got crowded, to say the least, and with all the shifting around which occurred during the night most mornings revealed dragons literally asleep on top of other dragons. Zeno never really minded, and on particularly dark nights like this when the air threatened to turn cold, the shared body heat was actually a very welcome advantage - even if it meant being subject to a regular kicking of the shins (courtesy of the Hakuryuu), the odd elbow to the face (thanks, Ryokuryuu) and waking up at weird angles with someone’s knee in his back (usually the Thunder Beast’s).  

Tonight however, as Zeno was settling in, his eyes drifting closed, he noticed that there was just far too much space for him to spread out over. It took him less than a moment to clear the sleep from his brain and realise that someone was obviously missing from their normally cramped pseudo-nest. This was not an unusual occurrence considering the Little Miss’ preference for training at night always involved the Mister and sometimes a dragon or two watching over her, but it was too late even for that.

He stood quietly, doing his best to avoid waking the others. The darkness was already deep, and with the thickness of the tent cloth blocking any outside light from entering it was impossible to see even his own hand in front of his face, but fortunately Zeno didn’t need his sight to know who was most likely still awake and where the missing dragon probably was. He felt his way silently along the edge of the tent, creeping to the flap.

_The Seiryuu._

On such a night as tonight, with the sky so clear and the moon dim and low, Zeno knew exactly why his fellow dragon was still up. _Just like Abi…_ he thought, wistfully, _so different and yet just the same._ He wrapped his scarf around his neck tightly, gearing himself to meet the cold, and pushed the tent flap open.

Once outside he made his way through the woods which bordered their camp. Practically blind in the darkness he walked without a single faltering step amongst the uneven ground, easily avoiding roots and clusters of foliage, letting his well-aged instincts guide him until he reached a nearby clearing. Grinning, he felt Shin Ah’s presence more than saw him and approached until he was close enough to see a vague outline of him. “Enjoying the view?” he asked as a cool breeze blew past them both.

Having taken the Seiryuu by surprise, he suddenly found himself the focus of a pair of scintillating eyes and his heart skipped a few beats. No matter how many times he’d seen their golden hue they never failed to strike him with their beauty.

“S-sorry.” Shin Ah turned away quickly. “I didn’t mean to frighten you.”

Zeno felt the familiar tiny grips of Ao as she began crawling up his pant leg. “You didn’t,” he said offering the squirrel his hand so he could lift her to his shoulder. “It was admiration. Zeno has yet to see anything in this world more dazzling than the eyes of the Seiryuu.”

Still unused to such lavish praise, Shin Ah stewed in silent embarrassment before eventually mumbling out a bashful “thank you.”

The Ouryuu pressed Ao against his cheek gently, rubbing his own soft skin against that of her fluffy fur. “Since the sky is so clear and the light isn’t very bright, the Seiryuu must be having a spectacular view of the heavens,” he said, making conversation. “Zeno didn’t mean to disturb, but if the Seiryuu doesn’t mind Zeno would like to stay here for a while, by his side.”

Blushing deeply Shin Ah took the hint that he was free to resume his previous activity. “I will be happy if you stay,” he said softly and then tilted his head all the way back, staring upwards, his mouth agape as he marvelled at a view only he was privileged enough to see.

“It must look pretty amazing up there.”

“Yes…” Shin Ah replied, his gaze unwavering from the view above him, “it’s really beautiful…” He was not a man of many words, Zeno noted, but there was so much he conveyed with each one them. It made him smile wistfully and think of another Seiryuu, from very long ago.

Abi was much more refined in his mannerisms than Shin Ah was, or was likely to ever be, though he couldn’t help noticing that the latter was much sweeter in character… much more of an adorable and genuine innocent. Zeno had taken a liking to the new Seiryuu from the moment he had met him as a child: a lonely little boy, with a heart made of gold, brimming with rare kindness - what was there not to love about him? But Abi… Zeno felt an old and familiar prickly sting at his heart. Abi was Abi, he had been special. Just like Shu Ten, Gu En and the Hiryuu, Abi had been a part of Zeno’s very first family, and he missed him dearly.

He knew it was wrong to compare, to seek his old friends in his new ones, but the dragon blood was passed down from person to person, there was always supposed to be a little bit of that magical creature in each and every one of them, some small aspect of themselves which was constant, recognisable: sometimes when he looked at Kija, especially when he was in the midst of a good fight - his heart thrumming with reckless abandon, his power unleashed and wreaking havoc - Zeno could see glimmers of Gu En. Those moments made him unbearably happy. It had not been until this very night, however, that he had been able to find that commonality between the two Seiryuus. Now that he had, as small a thing as it was, he wanted to weep for joy.  

They stood together in happy silence, Shin Ah unsure of what else to say, content to have company as he looked up in wonder, and Zeno lost in his own memories.

_It had been deep into the night, nevertheless the moon was full and white, casting out such a bright light that Zeno could see the figure of the Seiryuu from his palace chamber window as clearly as if it had been the middle of the day. Curious as to why Abi would be sitting out in the courtyard so late, Zeno realised that he’d had no other choice but to investigate. Tossing his prayer beads onto his bed, he rushed out of his quarters and outside._

_“What are you doing?” he asked when he had caught his breath, “Are you praying?” With the moonlight so bright, the parts of the Seiryuu that it highlighted were practically glowing. The coldness of the beams and the blue of his hair gave him an ethereal presence, as if the dragon himself had come down again and stood in place of the man._

_“Meditating,” Abi corrected absentmindedly, without looking away from his view of the night sky._

_Zeno frowned, confused. The Palace boasted a small prayer room, a medium sized prayer room, a_ large _prayer room, luxurious chambers and not one, but_ two _Gardens of Peace (not to mention all the other gardens scattered amidst the buildings), a small lake (or big pond, depending on who you were asking), a gazebo in the middle of said body of water, a room of fine art, a room of calligraphy art, a tower which looked out into the city below and the most comprehensive library in the entire empire. Why the Seiryuu had chosen to stand in the middle of the simple, high-walled courtyard made no sense, and more importantly, “Since when does meditating involve looking up?”_

_“Since I decided that it should,” Abi answered curtly._

_Understanding that he was not going to receive a more detailed answer than that, Zeno moved onto another question. “Doesn’t your neck hurt?”_

_“No.”_

_The Ouryuu didn’t quite believe him. Otherworldly or not, he was just as susceptible as everyone else to pains in the neck. “Are you sure?”_

_Abi huffed, clearly annoyed at having his peaceful contemplation interrupted. “I can cope fine, thank you,” he stated, his gaze still very firmly fixed on what floated above him._

_“Why don’t you just lay on the grass and look up?”_

_“That’s undignified.”_

_“But your neck wouldn’t hurt,” Zeno reasoned, “and no one would see.”_

_“You would.”_

_He waved his hand dismissively. “I don’t matter.”_

_“Of course you do.”_

_Abi’s tone was unexpectedly forceful and Zeno was suddenly very grateful that the Seiryuu’s perceptive gaze was still fixed on the sky or he would have certainly seen the blush which rosied his cheeks. “But why look_ up _?” he asked, determined to have all of his curiosity sated._

_“I like the view. It helps.”_

_He didn’t get it. “The view?” Zeno looked up himself, but with the moon blocking out all other light, there were no stars to be seen, only an empty dark sky. “It’s just a black abyss.”_

_“To you, maybe.” No longer able to concentrate, Abi tore himself away from the sky to look at Zeno._

_Faced with such a mighty gaze, the Ouryuu had to stop himself from sharply taking in a breath. He swallowed heavily. “What does it really look like up there?” he asked when he recovered._

_“It’s very pretty.”_

_“What can you see?”_

_“A lot.” He kept his answers short, hoping Zeno would get the hint that he wanted to be left alone. “Isn’t it late? Shouldn’t you be asleep?”_

_Zeno grinned. “I could ask you the same question.”_

_“As I have already explained,” Abi said sharply, “I was meditating.”_

_Getting the not-so-subtle hint, the blond lifted his hands in apology. “Sorry, sorry. I’ll be quiet from now on.”_

_“Thank you.” He took in a deep breath to refocus his energy and looked up into the sky again._

_Zeno sat himself on the grass, doing his best to make as little noise as possible. Instead he watched, observing the glowy grace with which the Seiryuu stood, his long hair and delicate features softening his otherwise prickly personality. ‘Do I look like that when I pray?’ he wondered, ‘Probably not. The Seiryuu concentrates so hard but it looks so effortless for him at the same time. I wish I could be so sophisticated.’ Unable to resist, he spoke again. “You’re lucky,” he said, “your powers are so amazing.”_

_Abi’s right eye twitched. “Yes, they are,” he said with barely-contained frustration._

_“Will you tell me what it looks like up there?”_

_“No.”_

_“Why not?”_

_He’d had enough. “Because I’m trying to understand the mysteries of the universe and I can’t do it when I have an annoying kid asking me stupid questions the entire time!”_

_“Oh…” Zeno did his best not look disappointed. “I’m sorry, I’ll go,” he said, getting up and dusting his pants awkwardly. “I didn’t mean to make you upset.”_

_Abi massaged his temple, immediately feeling guilty for his outburst. He watched Zeno walk away, reminding him of a wounded puppy with his waggy tail drooped between his legs, and huffed at what he was about to do. “Wait,” he said, giving up all hope of trying to actually meditate that night, “come back and sit.”_

_Zeno did, and then tried his best not to look exuberant._

_It irritated Abi how the Ouryuu could do that. “Stop it.”_

_“Stop what?”_

_“Stop being so…” he struggled to say the word, “cute.”_

_“Cute?” Zeno repeated, confused._

_“Nevermind,” Abi grunted, quickly dismissing the comment. He pointed up and to his right. “Do you see over there?” he asked in an obvious attempt at distraction._

_Following his finger, Zeno saw nothing but a black patch of sky, but he didn’t want to upset him again so he nodded his head vigorously. “Yeah.”_

_“That is what is commonly known as the Kufu Constellation.”_

_“Oh, I know that one! There’s nine stars that form the shape of the legendary bear who became king of his whole forest, right?”_

_Abi smiled. “For most there are only nine stars, I suppose, but I see over a hundred, and they’re shaped more like a squid than a bear.”_

_“Kufu the squid?” Zeno laughed, delighted at the very idea. “That would really put a twist in the tale!”_

_“Yes, it certainly would.”_

_“What about, umm…” Zeno looked around quickly, hoping to at least spot one of the brighter, more famous stars so he could keep the conversation going. Luck struck when he noticed the Northern Guidance Star. “… that one? Does the Tiger constellation look different to you, too?”_

_Abi nodded seriously. “Yes, very different,” he leaned over, as if imparting some great secret. “It really looks like a bowl of noodles.”_

_“Eh?” Zeno blinked and then burst into a fit of giggles._

_The two dragons spent almost the entire night looking up and talking about the different constellations, laughing together as Abi ruined one myth about the stars after another. Eventually, however, even the Seiryuu couldn’t fight back the yawn which threatened to reveal how tired he’d become. He looked down to see that the yellow dragon was practically dozing on his shoulder, a happy smile on his dreamy face._

_“I enjoyed tonight,” Zeno mumbled as they walked back together to their rooms. “Let’s do it again sometime.”_

_“I’d like that,” Abi had said, before he made his way to his own bedchamber. “Goodnight, Ouryuu.”_

Pulling himself out of the nostalgic memory, he sighed, the ache in his heart still present, yet just a little more dull than it had been moments before. “Zeno wishes he could see the stars like the Seiryuu could.” Ao squeaked in agreement near his ear.

“I… I could describe it for you,” Shin Ah offered, hesitantly. “I don’t know if I will be very good, but I can try.”

Zeno offered him a warm smile. “I’d like that,” he said, and sat himself on the grass.


	2. December 5: Christmas Tree

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Zeno sees a Christmas tree and he thinks about someone he hasn't thought of in a long time. 
> 
> Notes: Set sometime in the late sixteenth century in Europe. 
> 
> Characters: Zeno, with mentions of Kaya

**December 5: Christmas Tree**

 

_ Kaya.  _

_ Was that your name? I think it was. I’ll say it again, just to be sure it sounds right… Kaya.  _

_ Yes. That was it. Kind, beautiful Kaya. I remember it clearly now.   _

_ It’s been a while since I’ve thought about you and I’m really sorry, it’s just been such a very long time.  I’ll think about you more when I can. It’s important that I remember you, especially for when I miss you at times like this.  _

_ It’s called a ‘Christmas Tree’, Kaya, and it made me think of you the second I found out about this new tradition. You put a real tree in your house and you decorate it with pretty things and candles, and you put presents underneath to give to your loved ones.  _

_ We could have had one together and draped ribbons and strings all over it. I would have tried to stand it up myself, to save you the effort, and I would have failed miserably, I know. You would have laughed at me, and smiled kindly, and done your best to help. Most likely the tree would have toppled over us both and I would have snuck a kiss from you as we squirmed out from under it. But then your illness would have taken over and I would have carried you to bed and waited with you until you felt better.  _

_ And then I would sneak kisses from you again.  _

_ We would have had such fun with the tree. I would have tried to whittle something like a star and you would have sewn cute things to place on the branches. You would have let me hold you as we stood back and admired our handiwork, and suck on your finger when you burnt it on a candle. You would’ve laughed at the pine needles still in my hair. _

_ I hope you’re well in Heaven, Kaya. I can’t leave a present under this tree for you, so a wish will have to do: I hope that you’re looking down on me as I think about you, and I hope you’re smiling.  _

_ Maybe one day I'll even put up a Christmas tree myself, in honour of you.  _


	3. December 2: Hot Chocolate

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Summary: Hak and Jae Ha sip warm cheongju in the evening and chat. 
> 
> Characters: Hak, Jae Ha with mention of Kija and Yona. 
> 
> Notes: Based on a line from Hot Chocolate's song "Are You Getting Enough Happiness?" (Are you getting enough happiness? // Are you getting enough of what makes you happy?)

Jae Ha let out a quiet laugh, though it was loud enough for his drinking partner to notice. He was on the verge of tipsy - a state in which he was sufficiently relaxed to become contemplative and secretive, apparently, because he didn’t volunteer what he had found so amusing. It piqued Hak’s curiosity. “What is it?”

Jae Ha lifted his cup of cheongju. “I was just thinking about Kija,” he said before sipping.

Hak turned from staring out into the evening. “White Snake?” he asked, a smile blooming on his own lips as the memory of what happened bubbled up. “What in particular was so funny? Was it how loudly he screamed because a tiny bug unexpectedly fell into his dinner? Was it how I got to eat his portion because he wouldn’t touch his food afterwards? Was it how he floundered with embarrassment when Yona offered to share her dinner with him and he ended up spilling it all over Zeno? Or was it the way Yun yelled at him like a mother for wasting precious food and dirtying clothes that had just been washed?”

Jae Ha started laughing fully with Hak’s play-by-play retell. “All of it,” he said, shoulders shaking as he did his best to stop himself from being too loud and disturbing the others inside the inn.

Hak smiled broadly. He liked the sound of Jae Ha’s laugh, and it was nice to find that someone actually appreciated his sense of humour - teasing Yona was one thing, but the Ryokuryuu reciprocated, he could give as good as he got (though often to Hak’s detriment, unfortunately, and usually exposing his deeply hidden, very private inner emotions to Yona… _the bastard, thank God she’s so innocently naïve or he would have exposed my feelings about her long ago)_. Hak was just grateful that there was somebody who understood him.  

Jae Ha raised his cup in a toast to his absent compatriot when he calmed down again. “To Kija.”

“May he never change,” Hak added, lifting his own warm cup.

An ambient silence calmed the air, leaving them pleasantly fulfilled and happy in their own thoughts. They were staying at an inn which was off the beaten track - a double boon for them because the lack of travellers afforded them some much needed privacy as well as cheap prices. Upon having settled in, the two men had quickly discovered the inn keeper’s collection of homemade cheongju for sale and from that point onwards their night had been spent sitting on the back porch, looking out into the dark garden and sipping on some, admittedly, very decent booze.

Hak was the first one to break their silence, airing his inner musing. “Of all things to be afraid of, with all the burdens he carries, and the power he holds in his claw,” he looked down at his own hand for effect, “it’s bugs which are his downfall.”

Jae Ha shrugged his broad shoulders. “He’s afraid of other things, too.”

“Like what? Certainly not death, if the way he throws himself into a fight is any indication.”

“No, certainly not death,” he repeated, agreeing. “You can’t be when you’re a dragon. You have to accept it’s coming or you can’t survive.” He paused, as if it was all he was going to say in the matter. Hak knew better and waited patiently, observing a firefly as it floated past him in the gathering darkness. He wondered if, since technically a firefly was an insect, Kija was afraid of those too.

With a dramatic sigh, Jae Ha finally spoke again. “I’m not afraid of dying, either, you know,” he said.

The comment surprised Hak. _Cheongju definitely makes a contemplative and serious man out of the Ryokuryuu…_

“There are worse things than that,” Jae Ha looked him in the eyes, offering an irritatingly charming, lopsided grin, “like unrequited love.”

Hak, who was just a stage (or two) beyond Jae Ha (he’d started drinking first, after all), cut his eyes at him. _Forget that last part about being serious…_  having realised that he was probably being set up, he relaxed his posture. “It’s not as bad as you might think,” he answered honestly, pouring them both another cup each.

Jae Ha let out an obvious huff, his game exposed. “If you’re going to be so frank about it then it’s no fun for me.”

“That was the point. Now we can end this conversation before it even starts.”

Instead of answering, Jae Ha took another sip of his drink and then twisted his torso so that he could face Hak again, leaning his side against the wall. “Hmm…” he said seriously.

Hak side-eyed him. “What?” He shifted slightly, clearly uncomfortable under Jae Ha’s scrutiny. “Stop staring, it’s creepy.”

Jae Ha’s grin was practically turning feral. “At least now I’ve gotten you to admit that you _do_ love her.”

“Shut up, Droopy Eyes.” He downed his own, full cup and poured himself another.

“Ah, there’s the Hak _I_ love.” Satisfied with his friend’s reaction, Jae Ha’s smile softened and he turned his body to allow his back to face the wall, so the both of them could again look out into the garden.

The pleasant silence from before re-emerged, only for Hak to break it again.  “You once said that imprisoning someone was the worst thing anyone could do.”

“Did I?” Jae Ha asked, frowning as he tried to remember. “That doesn’t sound like me.”

Hak rolled his eyes. “You didn’t say it exactly like that. There was a reference to roses and… dirt, or something.”

“Oh Hak-kun, I’m hurt you don’t remember my beautiful sayings.”

“I’ll survive.”

Jae Ha sighed dramatically, placing a hand over his heart as if wounded. “So cruel… It makes you even more untouchable. No wonder all the ladies adore you.”

Hak pulled their conversation back onto its original track before it spiralled into a mess of embarrassing jibes and threats of harm. “Is that really what you fear?” he asked, not understanding it. “More than _death_? You’d rather be dead than imprisoned?”

Jae Ha’s expression of teasing dropped and he became serious again. “Wouldn’t you?” he asked, not looking at him.

“No.” Hak’s answer was immediate and frank, conveying his confusion. “I’d take being alive any day. You can always find a way to break free if you try hard enough.” He took in a deep breath. “If you really wanted to escape, you’d succeed. It’s only a matter of willpower.”

“Maybe that’s true, but freedom is a funny thing. There are plenty of ways to imprison people… some of them can almost make you think you’re happy,” Jae Ha tilted his head, having figured out why Hak had led him down their current route of conversation, “but I guess you already know that, that’s why you’re asking.”

“I have no idea what you’re talking about.”

Jae Ha sipped at his cheongju, his previous look of amusement seeping back into his features. “I’m less drunk than you are and you’re not being as subtle as you think you’re being.”

Hak made a snort of derision. “Whatever. I could drink you under the table.”

“Sure,” Jae Ha shrugged, “but you’d be right under there with me.”

“Maybe.” Having his ruse exposed, Hak decided it was best to avoid mincing words. “Loving Yona isn’t a burden, you know.”

“It’s still a trap, though. You don’t know what this feels like - to want to run away and selfishly desire every experience the world has to offer - only to abandon your pursuits completely just because your need to be near her is greater than-” Jae Ha stopped and laughed softly to himself. “What am I saying? Of course you know what that feels like.”

Hak looked down at the tiny cup engulfed in his large, rough hands, thinking about how very delicate it was. “I _am_ afraid of dying,” he said eventually, “because that would mean I would have to leave her. She could hate me, she could even forget me. As long as I could be near her, I’d be satisfied with that…”

Jae Ha sighed but said nothing, afraid that an interruption would draw Hak back into the shell he had apparently crawled out of for the evening. He made a mental note to get inebriated with Hak more often.

“When you love someone, it doesn’t matter if they love you in return or not, you need to be near them, no matter what. If I died, she’d go on living, she’d keep getting stronger, she’d succeed against every adversity, but I wouldn’t be there to witness any of it. I wouldn’t be there to bask in her achievements, I wouldn’t see her warm smile or her kind heart anymore. I’d never be able to hide her tears from anyone again.” His twisted the cheongju bowl in his hands, willing his body not to shake as he tried to reign in his emotions. “Death would be infinitely worse than the cage I live in,” he said and quickly drained his cup.

“So,” Jae Ha said, understanding, “ _that’s_ the secret of Kouka’s great Thunder Beast. That’s how you survive all those things that would kill ordinary humans. Because you’re afraid to leave her. That’s terribly sad, and romantic.”

Hak scoffed. “You mean pathetic.”

The Ryokuryuu shook his head, unwilling to allow any self-pity when the man had had the freedom to choose. “At least you made a decision, you’re following a path you made yourself. I don’t even know if what I feel for her is real or not. You were spoiled,” he said, sipping, “you got to have a choice in the matter.”

“Did I? What’s the difference between a god dictating your emotions, and me feeling it on my own? Neither is really a choice.” Hak shifted to make himself more comfortable. “The dragon’s blood will never leave you-”

“Not until I die,” Jae Ha corrected.

“But by then it will be too late to matter,” Hak continued. “For your entire life you’ll never be able to change how you feel about her, and neither can I. Maybe I never got any god telling me how I should feel, but that doesn’t mean I had the freedom to choose. I didn’t decide one day that she would be the one… I can’t switch it off any more than you ever could.”

“Alright fine, so we’re both pathetic.” Jae Ha swiped the bottle since he was too impatient to wait for Hak to realise both of their cups were empty. “We’re both stuck in a gilded cage, aware of our predicament, and apparently we’re very happy about it,” he said, pouring. “What does that say about us?”

Hak shrugged nonchalantly. “That we’re human, I guess.”  

“To be merely human goes against my aesthetic.”

“That’s a lie.”

“Oh?” Jae Ha raised a fine green eyebrow.

“You hate being a dragon.”

Since Hak was in the mood to spill his secrets, Jae Ha didn’t mind revealing a few of his own. “Sometimes,” he said, “but not always. And I’d hate it more to be an ordinary man. Then what excuse could I ever have to get Yona to ride on my back?” His eyes twinkled with mischief.

“I should punch you for that.”

“But you won’t because we’re such good friends, you and I.”

“I won’t because you’re holding our only source of booze.”

“That too,” he stretched out his dragon leg, flexing it briefly before returning it into its crossed position, “but in all seriousness I think I _am_ happy to be where I am right now… with everyone as they are.”

Hak raised his cup in a second toast and they both sipped on their cheongju.


	4. December 7: Pyjamas

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Summary: Yona is tasked with waking Hak and the dragons... that's not as easy as it sounds. 
> 
> Characters: Yona, Yun, Hak, Jae Ha, Zeno, Kija, Shin Ah and Ao.
> 
> Notes: Feedback for this one would be great. I can do angst in a heartbeat, but comedy? It's tough... hopefully I have (somewhat) pulled it off... 
> 
> Enjoy!

**December 7: Pyjamas**

 

 

Yona woke up with a mild headache. Her body was uncomfortably hot, her night shift was sticky against her skin and her scalp felt greasier than it should have considering she'd washed her hair less than two days prior.

“Urgh.”

From his sound of disgust it seemed that her tent mate was waking up in the same sort of predicament.

“It's far too hot and humid.” Yun sat up groggily and opened up the tent flap. He pulled away immediately but it was too late, the sunlight had already blasted him in the face, piercing his eyeballs and stabbing him all the way through to the back of his skull. “Ow.”

Yona had had the fortunate forethought to shield her face with her hand and was thus not subject to such blinding excruciation. “It’s late,” she noticed, sitting up as well. “Why didn’t they wake us?”

“I don't think anyone else is up yet,” Yun said as he rubbed the pain away with his palms. “I'm guessing it was harder for them to fall asleep than it was for us. There's more of them in there.”

Yona grimaced at the thought of Hak and the four dragons clustered together during the previous night’s breezeless heat. “It must have been like sleeping in an oven, and under such a thick tent, too.” She felt sorry for them. “I wonder if any of them slept outside?”

“I doubt it. Not unless they wanted to get bitten by every insect that passed them by, and in this weather, there would have been a lot.”

“Good point.” Being in the height of summer the mosquito situation was bad enough, she couldn’t imagine what it would have been like without the added protection of sleeping in an enclosed space. “I’ll be grateful when we reach higher ground and it’s cooler.”

“It can’t be helped. Our water supply is low and all of our stuff needs proper washing, so we had to stay close by running water.” He bent down and picked up the thick sheet Yona had been sleeping on and tossed it over to a pile of other things he wanted cleaned.

“I suppose it’s the perfect weather in which to do one’s laundry,” Yona said, doing her best to look on the bright side. “There’s no better time to spend hours scrubbing in a cool river than on a hot, sunny day. We’re lucky.” She stood up and began to dress.

Yun turned around to give her her privacy. “Luck had nothing to do with it, this was all carefully planned,” he said pridefully.

She grinned. “What ever would we do without our genius bishounen?”

“Probably all starve to death, for starters,” he grumbled, but he couldn’t help the mild blush which warmed his cheeks, pleased with her use of his official title over that of the dreaded nickname ‘mother’, chosen for him by the others. “Well, you can wake them,” he said, turning around to face her again. “Those exotic beasts are bound to be cranky but they’ll complain less if it’s you. I’ll start on breakfast. Afterwards, we can all go bathe to freshen ourselves up before we begin the day’s chores.”

Having been delegated the easier of the two tasks, Yona gave him a grateful smile and a small nod for his consideration. “Understood.”

He pulled open the tent flap again, this time with significantly more caution.

Once Yun left she adjusted her clothes, running her fingers briefly through her hair to untangle any knots, and then made her own way out, too. It was certainly not the first time that she’d been sent to rouse the others, in fact the task fell to her more often than not: Yun was an early riser and she was a relatively light sleeper - such a combination meant that normally they were awake before the others were, although by the time she got to their tent (or ‘dragon nest’ as Yun had started calling it) Hak was usually already in some state of consciousness.

“Rise and shine, everyone, time to get u- oof!” Reflexively she took a step back, her nose scrunching as her nasal follicles were assaulted by a veritable wall of stale sweat and musty, male b.o.

She hadn’t expected that, ‘ _although by now I should have really known better_ .’ Living almost entirely out of doors had taken some getting used to, and travelling with six _men_ had required further adjustments to be made, but Yona had prided herself on her having adapted to her new arrangements relatively quickly - and that included her having become desensitised to human odours. ‘ _I suppose I don’t exactly smell like a bed of roses, either..._ ’ she thought, feeling a little guilty for her initial reaction. After all, the whole reason that they were all stuffed together in the first place was purely to ensure that she could be as comfortable as possible with Yun in the other tent.

Mentally preparing herself so that she would show no negative reaction (she figured she’d get used to it in a few moments, anyway), she grabbed the flap and began rolling it up, with the aim of tucking it behind one of the support sticks and letting the sunshine do the job of waking them for her.

For the second time that morning, however, Yona found herself unexpectedly shocked, although this one was of a more paralytic nature and left her gawping unabashedly at the sight before her.

It shouldn’t have been _that_ shocking, really, considering the fact that there was nothing on display that she hadn’t already seen - there were no… _private_ body parts which were visible (with one glaring exception) - but it was the complete inexpectancy of her view that threw her for such a loop: laid out before her were four dragons plus one bodyguard, completely unconscious and practically lying on top of each other in varying states of undress. The most shocking of them all was Zeno, who, mercifully, was lying _face-down_ directly on the grass below, the protective mat having been rolled away during the night (to allow him to sleep directly against the cool earth, no doubt). His sleeping position, however, was not the problem, it was the fact that he was lying in such a position _stark naked._

Yona had had no other choice but to stare, really, considering it was the very first male butt that she had ever seen in her young life. It was cute, she couldn’t help but notice, as she tried desperately to tear her eyes away (failing miserably), and to her surprise it was the same shade as the rest of his skin… which, when she reached the inevitable conclusion as to _why_ that was the case, caused her creeping blush to skip past rosy pink and straight on to deep, dark purple. _How many years must Zeno have walked around completely without clothes to get such an even tan?!_ The intrusiveness of her thoughts snapped her out of her shock enough to avert her gaze.

Except in averting her gaze from Zeno’s naked behind, it landed on innocent Shin Ah instead, who was laying on his back, arms and legs spread out over those sleeping either side of him. He was completely and very obviously topless, having kicked off his blanket sometime during the night. Said blanket, as well as his shirt, lay in a messy heap at his feet, little Ao resting on its top, mirroring Shin Ah’s sleeping position. His obvious restlessness was a sure sign that he must have spent an uncomfortable night, since Yona knew that once Shin Ah closed his eyes, he could sleep like the dead, utterly motionless until he woke the next morning. Movement to his right caused Yona to shift her attention to Jae Ha, who was rolling from his back onto his right side.

Yona practically smacked her own face as her hands flew up to cover her eyes and grasp at whatever little innocence she still possessed. Like Zeno, Jae Ha had unfortunately decided to forgo the use of clothes altogether, and instead relied solely on a narrow, tangled blanket, draped precariously across his lower waist, to cover his modesty. He must have removed his entire outfit during the night (including, surprisingly, his pants and boots, exposing his dragon leg), because Yona seriously doubted that adorably pedantic Kija - who was also topless but was, of course despite the heat, hidden completely underneath a thin sheet - would have ever agreed to sleep so very close to someone so very naked.  

A deep grunt and the sound of someone lightly scratching skin, however, tempted Yona enough to peek through hesitant fingers. Spying that Jae Ha was still tastefully covered, she lowered her hands with a relieved sigh and refocused her attention onto Hak, who had been the source of the noise. His head was less than a foot away from her shoes, but she barely noticed since he too was half naked, his broad, tightly packed, muscular torso visible for all to see. Unlike with the others, however, Yona did not blush at the sight of such naked, attractive flesh. Instead, she instinctively zeroed in on the glaringly obvious scars which mapped his chest.

Her heart began to increase its beating pace and shooting sharp lightning through her whole body. She could no longer see the others in her peripheral vision, there was only Hak and the marks on his flesh. The main scar (the remnant of _that_ fight) - a deep sword gash which began at the tip of his left collarbone and ended above his diaphragm - had healed well, thanks to Yun, but it was still relatively new, barely even a year old, and it burned her eyes with the brightness of its colour. It hypnotised her, a terrible, vivid reminder of everything he had sacrificed for her, of every time that she had failed to protect him. Unable to do so much as flinch, let alone look away completely, a lump, large and unswallowable, solidified itself in her throat. It triggered her memories and they began to flood in, taking over her brain. Yona had seen Hak without his shirt on countless times, and he had seen her with less, but the last time she remembered him like _this_ \- his entire form relaxed, his bare chest unprotected and the gravity of his injury exposed - he had been in Ik Soo’s hut, and she hadn’t known if he was going to live or die. The pain in her chest felt as raw as the scar on his looked.

She took in a deep, ragged breath, fighting the sting of tears as they threatened to rise and spill out.

“Ogling us while we sleep, Princess? And you call me the pervert.”

All the emotion Yona had been feeling died instantly. The lump dissipated, the tears evaporated, her bleeding heart froze, the pain replaced with dread. And horror. And the quickening of a shamefully guilty pulse. She had been caught. There was no getting out of it. Slowly, ever so slowly, she dropped her gaze to her feet, where his head lay, desperately fearing and yet unfortunately knowing what exactly it was she was about to see. When she finally managed to look down, she was greeted with a very much awake, highly amused, smirking Hak.

An unsteady “Uhh…” was about as sound an explanation as she could offer.

“Hak-kun, don’t be so mean,” Jae Ha admonished, his voice soft with teasing and the dregs of sleep.

Yona’s wide, panicked eyes snapped up and clamped onto the precarious blanket, barely covering his unmentionables. When she realised how obvious she was being she flitted her gaze to Jae Ha’s face, instead, only to blush feverently at his amused grin. He glanced down at his own nude form before dragging his eyes back up to her. “Do you like what you see, Yona-dear?”

Before she could flounder for an answer, her nightmare intensified as Zeno decided that it would be a good idea for him to wake up too. “Morning Little Miss!” he said, exuberantly and made to stand up.

Yona stood paralysed, too shocked at what she was about to witness to save herself. Her eyes rounded, her nerves tingled. _No, no, no, no, no, no, no! I’m not ready to see a naked man yet!_

Just before he was about to expose himself, a voice, a heavenly, aggressive, irritated voice swooped in to save her. Yun. “Get some clothes on before you stand up, you eternal seventeen year old!”

Yona let out a breath of relief as Zeno flopped himself back onto the ground and grabbed at the nearest piece of clothing he could reach to cover himself with. “Oops!” he giggled, “sometimes I forget about these things in my old age- Ow! Hey guys, Zeno’s only made of dragon scales when he’s injured, not before!” he yelled as Jae Ha, Hak and Yun proceeded to throw various items at him.

“Then you shouldn’t have almost exposed yourself to the Princess.” Jae Ha threw one of his boots, laughing.

“You’re naked too!” Zeno said, barely dodging.

“You _all_ need to get clothes on.” Hak threw Jae Ha’s _other_ boot, grinning from ear to ear. “Perverts!”

“You’re not babies! Behave!” Yun berated, throwing whatever was closest at hand at all three of the men. Hak and Jae Ha then used the items that hit them against Zeno, too. “I’m throwing those things to stop you, not arm you!” he yelled exasperated. He was duly ignored.  

Yona stood there, watching, stunned, though she did notice that the commotion woke poor Kija.

After that, all hell _really_ broke loose.

“What…” he asked, sitting up sleepily, his blanket dropping to his waist, and rubbing at his eyes with his human hand. He stopped suddenly when he spotted Zeno. “Why are you naked?!” he demanded, and then looked down at Jae Ha, only to jump back shock. “GYAHH! YOU’RE NAKED TOO! WHEN DID YOU GET SO NAKED? WHERE ARE ALL OF YOUR _CLOTHES_?!”

“Oh, do calm down, Kija, we were just sleeping.”

“HOW CAN I BE CALM WHEN I SLEPT WITH A NAKED MAN?!” He suddenly remembered his own situation and dropped his gaze onto his own torso. “STARS IN HEAVEN _I’M_ HALF NAKED! OH THE DEBAUCHERY!” he bemoaned, loudly. Swivelling around he spotted Yona. “LOOK AWAY, SWEET PRINCESS! AVERT YOUR INNOCENT GAZE! DO NOT TAINT SUCH BEAUTIFUL EYES WITH OUR NUDE FORMS!” He lifted out his claw and attempted to block her view (failing miserably). Hak and the two dragons quickly diverted their attention onto him, making him the new target for their projectiles.

“Shut up, White Snake, it’s hot, she’s probably going to see us all without our tops on when we do our chores later, anyway!”

Shin Ah awoke with a jerk, terrified in the confusion, and shuffled away into the corner that Ao was sleeping in, not understanding how he had woken up to such mayhem. As he did so, he knocked over a half-dressed Zeno. “Uh oh…” he whispered when he spotted the look of mischief spreading across the Ouryuu’s face.

“Pile on!” Zeno yelled and tackled Shin Ah with all his might, sending the both of them flying and landing their full weights over Jae Ha (“Get off of me! Since when do you two weigh so much?!”) and Kija, whose dragon claw THEN accidentally smacked Hak in the face.

That was the last straw. “Oh,” Hak sat up and cracked his knuckles, “it’s on.”

“Now Hak…” Jae Ha tried, soothingly, recognising the look, “there’s no need to take this further than it’s gone.”

“Whatever you say, Droopy Eyes.” Hak pounced.

What had started as a slight rukus, turned into a five person, half-naked, all-out brawl.

“Guys!” Yun yelled, fuming. “If you don’t stop it now, breakfast will likely be burnt!” He was, once again, ignored. With all the commotion, Yona doubted that he was even heard.

Having had time to recover from her somewhat harrowing experience, Yona had the presence of mind to reach up for the tent flap and drop it, lest she see any exposed bits during the fracas. “Perhaps we should start eating without them?” she suggested.

From inside the tent they could hear the distinct sound of a bad imitation of a growl. “ _Rwaaaarrr_!”

“Ow! _Stop biting me, you crazy kid_! I’m not a piece of meat!”

“No kicking!”

“But it’s my only advantage!”

“I’ll show _you_ advant- Oof!”

“Avast ye pirate!”

“Oh, so we’re playing _that_ game!”

“ _Jae Ha,_ _no no n- ARGH!_ ”

“THIS IS FOR THE BLACK EYE YOU’VE JUST GIVEN ME!”

“Urgh, my head…”

"Aren't we supposed to be allies?!"

“And now I shall attack!”

“Not the claw _not the claw NOT THE CL-_ _DAMMIT White Snake!_ _”_

“I am the Hakuryuu! Bow before me!”

“ _Rwaaarrr!”_

“I SAID GET AWAY! STOP TRYING TO EAT ME!”

“That’s it! Chew, Shin Ah! Chew! _GYAAAAAAAAH! MY BUTT!_ ”

“Hak’s made a whip out of a shirt!”

“Destroy the Dark Dragon!”

“ _Come at me! I’ll take you all on!_ ”

"WHY ARE YOU _STILL_ SO NAKED?!"

In some ways, Yun thought it was actually worse not seeing what was going on, and what injuries were likely to follow. He let out an exasperated sigh. “Sure,” he said, replying to Yona’s question about eating, “and then we’d better pick some willow bark, I think we’re going to need it.”

Yona followed him to the campfire, giggling to herself as she and Yun left the pandemonium in the tent behind.


	5. December 4: Candy Cane

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Summary: Hak watches Yona suck on a candy cane... not healthy dude. Seriously. Get a grip. 
> 
> Characters: Hak, Yona, Jae Ha, with mention of Kija, Yun, Shin Ah and Zeno. 
> 
> Notes: Modern setting. Short, cheesy obsessed!Hak x oblivious!Yona fluff.

Hak’s mind would ordinarily have been filled with a multitude of thoughts: the fact that Kija was lucky enough to come from a family with sufficient funds to buy him his own apartment (while he, on the other hand, had to work two jobs just to make rent and supplement his tuition) was one such thought; the fact that a particularly difficult political science final was coming up in less than two weeks was another; there was also the problem of having an exam-revision session with Jae Ha (who was doing a PhD in Music and therefore had  _ no actual exams _ to revise for…) and with Zeno (who kept eating all the damn snacks) - since whenever those two were present (especially together) distractions of all kinds were inevitable; Shin Ah doodling over his notepad instead of actually studying should have also raised a mild cause for concern (the boy  _ never  _ asked for help when he needed it); there was also the mild pangs of hunger, induced by the smell of Yun’s cooking, which were worthy of food for thought; and finally, what would have  _ ordinarily _ been at the very top of his list, was trying to remember just which  _ bright spark  _ believed that having a study group at Kija’s would be a good idea in the first place (it was probably Yona). 

Yes, there were many things which could, should and ordinarily would have taken up Hak’s attention. So many thoughts which would have, under normal circumstances, whizzed through his active, clever mind. 

But these were not normal circumstances for Hak, not in the least, because Yona was sitting on the couch. She was not more than three feet away from him, dressed in jeans, an oversized off-the-shoulder sweater and rainbow socks. That in itself was distracting enough, but the situation was actually much more dire that just a simple case of her being adorable. 

Her legs were bent at the knees, you see, and resting on her lap was a mock exam which Yun had prepared for her while the pre-med busied himself in the kitchen making more snacks. Settled on her face was look of determined concentration as she wrote on the paper with a ridiculously bejewelled, fluffy pen. She was indeed adorable, but worse, with every obstacle she was overcoming on the test she was becoming more and more confident - it was obvious from the way her eyes lit up, he could see it as clear as day. And that was terrible news for Hak. On any given Sunday Yona was hot. Like, you-could-fry-an-egg-on-the-sidewalk kind of hot, like searing-a-steak-on-a-barbecue-in-the-height-of-summer hot, or even burningly-spicy-vindaloo hot (the food metaphors were because he was so hungry), but a  _ confident  _ Yona? When she had something to prove and then she actually did it? That was when Hak was in deep, deep trouble. Because when she was in that sort of mood, she was nothing short of being the most irresistible creature ever to walk the earth. That was when she was the best version of herself. 

But then…  _ then _ if things weren’t bad enough, they turned to utter disaster for the poor boy: the second she had reached into the bowl of candy and started sucking innocently on a candy cane, he'd become undone. He might as well have just given up and gone home, wrapped himself in a ball on his bed and died right there. At the point when the candy entered her mouth, any semblance of human thought abandoned Hak’s brain. His entire world suddenly became a thin, striped stick of sweet peppermint. 

She had no idea, of course. None whatsoever. As she wrote with her silly little pink pen, as her cute brow furrowed while she impressively resolved one difficult maths question after the other, she was completely oblivious to the tortuous effect she was having on the man sitting on the floor adjacent to her. Her lips puckered slightly when she sucked on the candy cane, her cheeks hollowing whenever she pulled it out of her mouth to write (for some unknown reason it appeared she couldn’t both eat the candy  _ and  _ note down her mock test answers at the same time, something which inexplicably made the whole thing hotter). 

He could smell the peppermint from where he sat - sweet, minty and unreasonably intoxicating considering the fact that it was just a piece of hard sugar syrup and artificial flavouring... but then, it was a piece of hard sugar syrup and artificial flavouring  _ in her mouth _ . Her lips encapsulated the shaft, that silky tongue of hers tasting every part of it, gently sucking away layer after sweet layer of E numbers and peppermint… Somewhere in the back of his mind he knew that there was an actual, genuine reason as to why he was in Kija’s apartment, some more legitimate explanation other than to stare at the woman he'd had feelings for since she was five and he was eight, but for the life of him he couldn't recall what it was (although he wasn't exactly trying very hard). He vaguely remembered that there was an untouched textbook sitting on the coffee table against which he was leaning, and an open highlighter in his hand, but why would he care about those things when instead he could watch Yona slide a slippery-smooth little stick between a pair of lips so soft and perfectly made they practically proved the existence of a heaven? Her mouth created a seal around the candy cane, forming a vacuum as she sucked, and he couldn’t help but notice that every time she pulled it out there was a little noise, like a tiny kiss, as the vacuum was broken. Each sound sent a jolt of current down through him and that was definitely  _ much _ more enthralling than whatever the politics book thing was… politicking about, or something.  _ I’m not a hormonal teenager. I am an adult male in my final year of undergrad,  _ he thought to himself, valiantly,  _ I need to get a grip _ . But that idea was quickly tossed out as soon she stopped sucking and began nibbling on the edge of the stick. His breath hitched in his throat and it suddenly became necessary for him to shift in his position. He thanked God for having shoved on one of his baggier hoodies when he’d dressed that morning. It made things easier to…  _ hide _ when sitting. 

“You're working hard, Yona dear.”

Jae Ha’s comment unpleasantly ripped Hak out of his trance-like state. He knew he should have been grateful for it, but all he could do was glower at the interruption.

Yona pulled the cane away from her lips as her concentration was broken, wide eyes looking up from her paper. “Hm?” she asked. 

“I said you're working hard.”

She smiled pleasantly. “Yun gave up a lot of time to make a good mock exam for me to practice on, I want to make him proud,” she admitted. 

“That's adorable.” Jae Ha wasn't looking at her, Hak observed, but instead eyeing up the candy in her hand. “Can I have a taste?”

Yona pointed to the to the table. “The candy bowl is right there.” 

Hak ducked his eyes onto his textbook, pretending not to have noticed the conversation going on in front of him. 

“But there're no more candy canes and I really wanted one,” Jae Ha said. “It's almost Christmas, after all.”

Hak raised his eyes discreetly to see what her reaction would be. She scrunched her nose slightly (which, in his opinion, made her look like an adorable bunny). “But I've been sucking on it,” she said, lifting the cane a little higher so it could be visible to Jae Ha. 

“That's all part of the appeal, Yona dear.”

“Jae Ha!” Kija intervened before Hak could say anything, appalled at the innuendo. “You're being inappropriate.”

The man in question transferred his sharp, devilish grin over to his new victim. “Isn't that part of  _ my _ appeal?” He waited until he could clearly see the blush forming on Kija’s cheeks before turning back to Yona and giving her an over-reactive pout. “If Suwon was here I bet you'd let  _ him _ have a taste.”

Darting her eyes away at the comment, Yona begrudgingly handed over the stick. “You’re terrible,” she mumbled. 

“All's fair in love and war.” Jae bit off a small piece and rolled it around on his tongue. “Yum,” he said, and handed it back to her. “Thank you.” As she put it back in her mouth and began sucking on it again Jae Ha’s grin widened (Hak thought he looked like a shady deviant). “Technically, I can now say that we've kissed.”

“We have not.” Yona rolled her eyes but Hak noticed the look of amusement on her face. 

Seeing that she was enjoying his teasing, Jae Ha continued on. “Oh, but we've shared the same candy. It's practically the same thing.”

Yona giggled, slightly embarrassed by his flirting. “You're incorrigible.”

“Only because you're irresistible. Let me have another bite.”

“No,” she tapped his hand lightly when he reached for it, “Yun is bringing more snacks.” 

Jae Ha snapped his hand away, clutching it with the other. “But I'm not hungry for food, only kisses,” he said.

“We were  _ not  _ kissing.”

He offered her another pout. “Just one more?”

Giving in, Yona sighed in mock exasperation and moved to hand over the candy to Jae Ha. “Just one,” she warned, smiling.

Before Hak realised what he was even doing, he snatched the stick from her hand and shoved the whole thing into his mouth, chewing it and swallowing it down in less than the blink of an eye. He looked down at his open textbook and highlighted a random line, feigning nonchalance. “Get back to work, Jae Ha. You're distracting everyone.”

“Hak!" Yona said, appalled, "you ate my candy!”

Just for a millisecond Hak panicked as he looked up and noticed her wide-eyed shock at what he’d done ( _ You idiot, what is  _ wrong _ with you?! Get. A. Grip! _ ) It was ridiculous to feel so jealous, he didn't have that right to be, but how was he going to explain himself? “I was saving you,” he said, relying on the oldest trick in his book to distract her from the truth. “If you eat too many sweet things at Christmas, you'll definitely gain weight.” 

Yona’s ensuing rage and physical contact with him (via heavy nougies and hard cheek pinching) was totally worth all the pain which came with it.  


	6. December 15: Presents

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Summary: Winter Festivus is coming up, and Yun has a plan! 
> 
> Characters: Yona, Hak, Yun, Kija, Jae Ha, Shin Ah, Zeno.
> 
> Notes: Written for Uta-Chan-Meganekko in the 2016 Akayonagiftexchange

**An Affordable Winter Festivus For All**

 

“Do you think it’ll have a lot of bugs in there?”

The trepidation in Kija’s voice was clear even though his stomach growled loudly enough to nearly drown out his question. Jae Ha grinned but otherwise ignored the noise, saving the Hakuryuu from further embarrassment. To be fair, they were _all_ ravenous after their long day spent climbing up the steepest part of the mountain path, but fortunately their efforts had paid off: just like Yun’s excellent map reading skills had promised, they were about to arrive at a cozy (but suitably large) cave which would do nicely as a shelter for the night.

“Would you rather sleep outside in this freezing cold, White Snake?”

Despite knowing he was being teased it was obvious that Kija was actually considering it as an option. “Once we get a fire going there won’t be any need to worry, it’ll chase any bugs away,” Jae Ha offered by way of reassurance.

Hak was having too much fun, however, to let it go. “No it won’t,” he said, “creepy crawlers are attracted to heat and light. If anything, more will come towards us."

Kija visibly shuddered at the thought. 

"You don’t need to worry," he continued on, "I’ll be happy to protect you through the night in exchange for your portion of dinner.”

“Stop frightening him, Hak.” In spite of her attempt to hide it, Jae Ha could hear Yona's exasperation - a sure sign she was also very tired and hungry - and guessed it was that more than her actual words which made Hak stop his teasing. “Kija, if you sleep outside you’ll catch a cold,” she said as she pulled her cloak closer, “besides, once we're in the cave they’ll be so many of us moving around _we’ll_ be the ones frightening the bugs, they’ll go into hiding and won’t bother us. You’ll be perfectly safe there, I promise.”

“Thank you, Princess.” Kija turned to the Thunder Beast and gave him a look of smug triumph. “And while I thank you for the offer, Hak,” he said sarcastically, “I can protect myself just fine. You keep _away_ from my food.”

Hak shrugged. “I was only offering my services, and at a discounted rate for a friend, too.”

“None of you will get dinner if you don’t hurry up!” Yun called out from a little further up the mountain road, the Seiryuu and Ouryuu standing on either side of him. “Shin Ah says we’re almost there but it’s getting dark quickly.”

Jae Ha’s own stomach rumbled in protest at the thought of going the night without eating. “Best we pick up the pace,” he suggested to the other three, “before we upset mother too much.”

“I heard that!”

“He’s got ears as keen as a falcon’s eyes, that one,” he grumbled. Yona chuckled lightly, her mood lifted since they were so close to their destination. He couldn’t help feeling pleased at having made her smile and it nearly made him roll his eyes at himself. _I’m almost as bad as Hak,_ he sighed, _go away, dragon blood, leave my poor heart in peace._

As per usual, though, it wasn’t listening.

~*~

Immediately upon arrival at their new site, and despite the overall fatigue of the group, everyone fell into a well-practiced routine as they each did their part to make camp. As always, Yun was the one in charge of preparing dinner and once the food had been made everyone formed an orderly queue… if by ‘formed an orderly queue’ Jae Ha actually meant that while Zeno and Kija bickered and fought between themselves to snag the first bowlful of stew from the pot, Yona had tried to sneak past them, only to be caught by Hak (which started an additional kerfuffle on a whole other level). In the end, whilst everyone was fighting over who was hungriest/oldest/had most seniority, it was Shin Ah who managed to get first dibs… _it’s always the quiet ones_ , Jae Ha thought. Of course, being the big brother and knowing that bickering over dinner was unattractive, he’d stayed out of it, surveying it all instead from his spot next to his sleeping mat. He might have been last to eat, but watching his pseudo-family interacting with each other with such _normalcy_ and _comfort_ was more than worth it.

The only thing that was out of place was the fact that Yun wasn’t telling them off as loudly as he usually did. Jae Ha might have been hungry, but an empty belly hadn’t dulled his senses. He made a note to ask Yun about it when they were alone but Yona beat him to the punch and spoke to him while everyone was still eating around the campfire.

“Yun, is everything alright? You seem a little… contemplative tonight.” Her voice echoed louder than she intended it to in the cave and drew the attention of the others.

Jae Ha’s sharp, violet eyes flicked over to the boy, curious to see if he would open up.

Yun stopped munching on the wild herbs he was eating and to Jae Ha’s surprise, he looked a little sheepish. “Well, the famous Kouka tradition of Winter Festivus is coming-”

“Ah, my favorite holiday!” Kija sighed, interrupting. “I’d almost forgotten it’s that time of year. Granny will be busy supervising the decorating of the village right about now. There’ll be presents for everyone, warms fires, plenty of feasting, fireworks and sweet drinks!”

Yona heartily agreed with him. “Winter Festivus was so much fun at the palace, we had the best food and games! Father would open up the palace doors for the whole kingdom and finding gifts for everyone was so much fun!” She laughed, revelling in her memories. “Mundok used to dress up as Mr Festivus and give all the children gifts. Do you remember, Hak?” Her eyes creased with nostalgia at the corners. “He used to chase after you when you tried to sneak a peek from his sack!”

Hak unconsciously rubbed at the back of his head, her infectious grin spreading easily to him. “Sometimes he actually caught me, too.”

“Ik-Soo used to pretend Mr Festivus came to leave me a gift in the night,” Yun piped up, that false irritability ever present whenever he spoke about the priest, “but I never fell for it. It was so obvious it was him,” he said, “but I would pretend not to know because it made him so happy.”

“You must miss him,” Yona said kindly, “and I’m sure he misses you, too.”

Yun waved it off. “Bah, since he’s on his own he’ll probably go visit the mountain shrine. Lots of people from the region travel there for Winter Festivus, they’ll be plenty for him to do to in order to help set everything up for the influx of holiday tourists…” he said, deliberately dodging Yona’s point, “although he’ll probably cause the other priests more harm than good,” he added in a low mumble.

“I’m sure he’ll be fine. And between all the food preparation, decorating, music and fireworks, Ik-Soo will likely have a great Winter Festivus holiday,” Yona reassured him.

Shin Ah’s face lit up under the mask as he listened, imagining all the events which supposedly took place during the celebration. “It sounds nice.”

Kija turned to the Seiryuu, aghast at the implication. “Don’t tell me you’ve never celebrated a Festivus before?”

Shin Ah sat momentarily paralysed, his spoon halfway to his mouth, as if worried he’d somehow given an incorrect answer, and then shyly shook his head. Ao stopped sipping broth from his bowl to mimic him.

“That’s terrible!” exclaimed Zeno, his voice echoing loudly within their cave. “We’ll have to throw a Festivus celebration so you can experience it! Zeno loves celebrations.”

Yun’s initial frown had returned. “As I was trying to say before I was interrupted, Winter Festivus is coming up and, well… we’re all _dirt poor._ ”

“That’s not new information, Yun-kun, why does it bother you now?” Jae Ha asked.

“Well,” Yun sat up a little taller, evidently proud of his potential new idea, “I’ve come up with a plan - a way for all of us to celebrate the holiday together in an affordable manner.”

“You never let us down, such a good mother,” Jae Ha teased, seeing the boy was already looking happier.

“Watch it, you exotic leg-beast, or I won’t let you take seconds.”

Jae Ha feigned being being distraught. “I take it all back, then. What’s your plan, bishi-Yun?”

“We’ll pull names out of a pot. Whoever you get, that’s the only person you’ll get a gift for. The _only_ person.” He looked specifically at Hak and Yona. “No extra gifts for anyone, got it? That way we’ll all get presents and it’ll still be fair and cheap.”

“That sounds like fun!” Yona beamed as a thought occurred to her.  “Do you think when we pull out the name of the person we’re buying the gift for we keep that name a secret until Winter Festivus Day?”

Yun shrugged. “Sure, if you think it’ll make it more interesting.”

“Yay!” Zeno threw his arms out in celebration “Seiryuu gets to experience his first Winter Festivus and Zeno will get a present! This is going to be great!”

Simply because Zeno was doing it, Shin Ah raised his arms out, too. “Yay,” he said in his soft voice and smiled, tentatively excited at the prospect of his first Festivus.  

“I’ll write everyone’s names down and put them in a pot.”

“Not you, Droopy Eyes,” Hak warned. “I don’t trust you to put your own name in only once.”

“Fufu, how mean, Hak.” Jae Ha pretended to pout.

“You can try and look cute all you like, but you’re not my type so it won’t work.”

The Ryokuryuu’s eyes lit up like stars. “You think I’m so cute when I pout that you tease me deliberately? Oh, Hak-kun…”

Hak sighed. “That’s… that’s not what I said.”

“I’ll get the pot ready with everyone’s names,” volunteered Yun, “once we finish dinner.”  

He was rewarded with a chorus of “Thank you, mother!”

“ _I don’t remember raising any of you as children!_ ”

~*~

On the day of Winter Festivus they’d spent the morning and afternoon in the town taking in all the sights and sounds and smells the holiday had to offer them. They ate too many sweets, (some of them) drank a little too much and they spent as much money as they had on games (sometimes even winning little prizes). Shin Ah’s cheeks ached from smiling so much, more exhilarated than frightened at all the hustle and bustle. Zeno got lost in the crowd on more than one occasion and for a while Jae Ha was somehow roped into acting as a substitute for a band whose flute player was ill. For an hour or so Yun even set up shop and sold a few medicinal herbs (and what he marketed as ‘hunky beast’ hugs, building on previous experience and exploiting not just Hak, but Kija and Jae Ha as well), although he guarded the money he earned from that business venture tightly, staunchly refusing to allow the others to waste any of it at the Festival.

As the afternoon dragged on and the sensations began to overwhelm them all a little, they agreed to return to their inn until the fireworks began at night. They’d rented two rooms (a small one for Yun and Yona, and a much larger one for the others), and gathered in the bigger of the two for the highly anticipated exchange of their Winter Festivus gifts.

They all sat in a circle, their presents hidden behind their backs as they gleefully tried to spy on one another, each of them brimming with anticipation.

“So, who wants to go first?” Yun asked when everyone was ready.

The Ouryuu volunteered immediately. “Zeno does!” Without waiting for permission he whipped out the gift from his sleeve: a rolled piece of cotton with something wrapped inside it. “This is for the Ryokuryuu! Happy Winter Festivus!” He tossed it to Jae Ha, sitting opposite him. “Zeno hopes he likes it and makes good use of it.”

Jae Ha looked up in surprise once he’d unrolled the cotton and realised what his gift was. “How did you know I needed this?” he asked.

“What is it?” Yona asked, not recognising what it was.

“It’s Python skin,” he explained, “for my erhu.”

“Zeno noticed the Ryokuryuu wasn’t playing as often after he dropped his bag during that fight in Sei, and that when he did play, the sound wasn’t quite right. Zeno guessed that it was damaged and the Ryokuryuu was probably having trouble affording to fix it.”

Jae Ha nodded, surprised at Zeno’s perceptiveness. “This would have been expensive,” he said.

The Ouryuu smiled broadly. “That’s why Zeno caught the python himself. It was free!”

Yona’s eyes widened in horror. “But didn’t you get bitten?”

“Only a few times,” Zeno said in an attempt to placate her concerns, “but everyone knows the Ouryuu will always recover so it was no problem!”

“‘Only a few times’ is a lot, you careless dragon,” Yun said, “it’s not like a simple thorn prick!”

“But the python isn’t very poisonous and it only managed to break Zeno’s wrist once!”

“That doesn’t make it any better!”

Zeno simply laughed and patted the boy on the head.

“This is a very fine gift,” Jae Ha said, “the quality of the skin it high, and it’s been dried and treated perfectly. This was skillfully done. Thank you, Zeno-kun, I really appreciate it.”

Zeno scratched his hair, embarrassed at the sincerity of Jae Ha’s thanks. “Zeno’s happy his gift made the mister happy, too. Maybe the Ryokuryuu will start playing more for us in the evenings again?” he asked. Without waiting for an answer, he turned to the group. “Who’s next?”

“Well, since I got my gift, I think it’s only fair I give my present next, right?” Jae Ha suggested.

“Oh, that’s a good idea! Who did you pick from the pot?” Yona asked.

“That would be…” Jae Ha paused for dramatic effect, “Hak!” He pulled a large, white bottle out from behind him. “I hope you like it.”

“Cheongju, huh? Good choice.” Hak took the gift from Jae Ha and inspected the name. “This is a good brand, too,” he said appreciatively.

“It was difficult to get a hold of, I had to barter for it in a very dubious place, but it’s definitely the real deal.”

“I don’t want to know more,” Hak said, grinning, “but let’s enjoy it together later tonight.”

“My thoughts exactly.”

“No fair,” Kija protested, “you guys are always sharing drinks together.”

“Anyone’s welcome to join us, White Snake, if you can keep up with us.”

“It’s Winter Festivus, the least you could do is call me by my proper title!”

Considering he was in a good mood, Hak felt there was no harm in obliging. “Fair enough, _Hakuryuu_. But just for today.”

Kija’s jaw fell open and Yona thought he looked adorable enough to giggle over.

To everyone’s surprise, Shin Ah spoke up. “What about you, Hak?” he asked, “who did you buy a gift for?”

“I’ve never seen you so excited, Shin Ah-kun.” Jae Ha said, highly amused. The boy blushed at the attention but from the way he was smiling and how tightly he was holding his hands together, it was obvious he was struggling to contain his glee. This was his first time celebrating a holiday and he was as excited to give a gift as he was to receive one.

Hak reached for a small bag in his robe and then went back in to pull out a pretty cloth folded in half as well. “It’s funny you should ask because it’s _you_ ,” he said, grinning, as he handed the goods over. “There are some nuts in the bag for Ao, and the gift in the cloth is yours.”

Shin Ah beamed and even though he was wearing a mask, Jae Ha was convinced the smile had reached those beautiful eyes of his. He held the cloth reverently, as if it could dissipate with a whisper, and stared at it without moving.

“Well?” Kija asked. “Don’t you think you should open it, brother?”

Shin Ah looked up at Kija and it seemed to break the spell. He smiled again before laying the cloth onto his lap and carefully peeling it open. Inside were two medium-sized yellow silk tassels, connected together with an intricate knot and decorated with two round green stones. Ao would have beamed too, except she’d already begun stuffing her cheeks with the nuts she’d found in the bag Hak had given her. “Just like Yona’s earrings,” Shin Ah whispered, holding his gift up for everyone to see. “Thank you.” He immediately got up and collected his sword, looping the tassels easily in the handle’s hoop.

“Hak made those himself,” Yona informed him, unable to hide her pride in her bodyguard’s hidden artistic talent. “That’s why he could afford to buy materials of such good quality; he was able to purchase some silk string and unpolished gems and fashioned the tassels himself out of it.”

“Hak can make jewellery?” Yun asked, impressed. Jae Ha snorted with delight at the very idea.

“Weapon accessories,” Hak corrected, half embarrassed and half preening over the Princess’ praise. “It’s important to know how to tie knots well, and I know how to polish things because it’s an essential skill for weapons’ care.”

“The Mister is amazing,” Zeno exclaimed.

“I’ll treasure it.” Sitting back down with the group (his sword clutched lovingly) Shin Ah placed a clear jar of ointment in front of Kija. “I… I found this in the market. There were lots of different types, but… the lady there, she said that this was the best one. It should work to repel the toughest bugs. Happy Winter Festivus, Hakuryuu.”

Kija all but had hearts in his eyes and grabbed at the large jar eagerly. “Oh Shin Ah, how thoughtful!”

“I hope it works,” Shin Ah said, still holding his sword, “if it doesn’t, I'll… I’ll go back and find you something else you might like.”

Kija shook his head vehemently. “No, no, there’s no need. It’s the thought that counts most of all, although I am sure it will aid me effectively in my battle against those terrible creepy crawlers from hell!” He opened the top and took an experimental sniff, scrunching his nose. “It’s certainly pungent,” he said. Ever the optimist he smiled broadly. “I can’t see how this will fail me!”

Shin Ah’s heart began to pound, happy beyond words at having succeeded in his first attempt to buy someone a present.

Jae Ha, however, smirked, knowing who was next. Almost everyone knew whose name Kija had picked from pot due to his ensuing panic and subsequent dedicated hunt for the perfect gift. “It’s your turn to give your gift now, Kija-kun. I wonder, who on _earth_ could it have been?”

Kija went bright pink. “You know very well who it was! You made fun of me the whole time and turned my shopping experience into an absolute _nightmare_!”

Jae Ha shrugged his shoulders. “I was only trying to help…” he said, dolefully.

Kija wasn’t buying the act and angrily shook a fisted claw at the Ryokuryuu.  “ _You made too many suggestions and doubted all of my choices!_ ”

Hak and Zeno couldn’t help but laugh at his expression.

“Oh Kija, please don’t worry, I am sure whoever you got will love whatever it is you bought them, especially when you’ve obviously put so much thought and effort into finding their gift. Like you said to Shin Ah, that’s what really matters, right?”

Yona hadn’t realised it was possible for Kija’s blush to have gotten redder, but it did.

“Well, Princess, I hope that what you say is true because my person is you.” Without looking at her, he extended out his other hand, clutching a small wooden box. “I hope you like them,” he said shyly. “If not, I can always take them back and get them changed.”

“Oh.” Yona was pleasantly surprised. “I had no idea it was me!”

“Everyone else did.” Hak grinned. “He spent ages discussing what he should get you when everyone was trying to sleep and he wouldn’t shut up.”

“Zeno remembers that night… he was _so_ tired!”

“These are so pretty!” Yona was smiling widely from ear to ear, holding up a pair of new walking boots. “They look so comfortable, too!”

“Well I noticed your shoes are a bit worn and I know these ones are less slender but it’s the winter and I was thinking about the cold and how your feet might be getting more uncomfortable with the change in season-”

“Kija-”

“-and so when I saw them I thought you would like them but I wanted them to be pretty too because you’re a princess who deserves only the very best-”

“Kija…”

“-so I asked the cobbler to put some decoration on them and he did but if you don’t like them I can get you som-”

“Kija _they’re wonderful and I love them_ ,” Yona said loudly, interrupting his babble and doing everything she could to contain her laughter. “I could not be more grateful.”

“Oh,” he puffed out, utterly relieved, “I’m very glad.”

“I was just asking Hak the other day about whether or not I should get a heavier pair of shoes,” she said. “You’ve done me a great service because now I don’t have to look for a new pair myself.” She smiled and held up her new shoes. “I’ll start breaking them in tonight when we go to see the fireworks.”

Kija turned to give Jae Ha his familiar look of smug triumph.

“Well, considering there’s only the eternal seventeen year old and me left, I think we can easily figure out the rest.”

“The little lad is clever,” Zeno said, patting Yun’s head again. “Zeno’s excited to see what the little lad’s got him.”

“You’ll have to wait your turn. It’s Yona who’s supposed to give a present.”

“And here they are,” she said, presenting him with two books. “I know they’re a little boring,” she apologised, “I wanted to get you something more exciting, like a epic ballad or a historical romance but all I could afford was this old book of complicated maths. I bought it from a merchant who’d gotten it from a nobleman’s retired school tutor. I found the book on flora and fauna of the Xing Kingdom abandoned in one of the inns we stayed in a while ago.” She smiled at him. “One day, I’ll take you to the library at Kouka palace. You’ll be able to read anything you want, there are so many books there it’ll make your head spin, I promise. But for now, I hope these will do as a start.”

In a rare state of open emotion, Yun, unable to contain himself, got up to hug Yona tightly. The initial act took Yona by surprise, but the boy’s strong grip around her shoulders was a welcome thanks. Once he came to his senses he let go and sat himself back down as if nothing had happened and tossed Zeno a large, heavy bag. “Here,” he said while trying to duck his blushing face into his arm. “I made these for you.”

Zeno’s eyes sparkled with delight. “Sweets! The little lad made Zeno sweets! How joyful!” He shoved three into his mouth, one straight after the other and beamed, throwing his arms up into the air and making a ‘V’ with each hand. “In Zeno’s opinion, this is the best gift of them all! Happy Festivus Day to all!” His exuberance turned suddenly to trepidation, however, as everyone seemed to get the same idea at same the time. “No! Get away!” he yelled as they all pounced on him and tried to steal a sweet for themselves. “The little lad made them for _me_!”

~*~

“Uh… wait Princess,” Hak said as the group made their way out of the inn to go watch the fireworks.

Yun eyed them both with suspicion and was about to open his mouth to berate Hak but Zeno caught him by the shoulders and pulled him away. “Come on, little lad, you and I aren’t as tall as the others, we have to go save spots up in the front or we won’t see anything!”

“That’s a good point,” Jae Ha added, winking quickly at Hak as he passed by. “I don’t want to have to carry you to higher ground, it’d be quite tiring, come along everyone.”

Once they were alone in the room, Hak began rifling through his things.

Having had no indication as to why she was asked to stay, Yona stood watching him awkwardly. Her eyes wandered over his muscular form - as they tended to do when she had an unimpeached view of him ( _stop it,_ she told herself, _your cheeks will go red and he’s sure to notice!_ ). She swallowed down the lump in her throat. “So… tonight was… um, fun? I really enjoyed celebrating Winter Festivus with everyone.” Yona tilted her head to get a better look at what he was pulling out of his pack when he didn’t respond. “What’s that?” she asked, uncertain if her suspicions about what he was about to do were correct. “Is that a new…”

“Yeah,” he said, standing up again and handing her a sleek, large bow. “For you.”

She gasped lightly. “Hak, this…” she took it from his outstretched hands and ran her fingers along the gift, “it’s _beautiful_.”

He nodded. “Bamboo core, ears of sandalwood and mulberry, and reinforced with buffalo horn,” he described, proud of his own find. “It’s a good bow.”

“But how did you-”

“I traded in the old one and a dagger I wasn’t using as part payment,” he answered, having anticipated her question. “It was worth it, though.”

“Oh…” To afford something so expensive he would’ve had to have sold one of his better weapons. Her heart ached at the thought of his generosity; he already gave her so much. “You didn’t have t-” she stopped herself when she noticed that of all things, Hak - the Thunder Beast of Kouka - was _blushing._ She immediately thought it better to simply take the gift in the spirit it was given. The last thing she wanted was for him to feel awkward about his kind gesture. “This is perfect, thank you.” As she was about to test the string she noticed something special about the decoration on the inner side of the bow. “Is that the royal crest in the design?” she asked, surprised.

He smirked. “You noticed. It wasn’t safe to make it obvious but this bow should last you a long time if you take care of it properly. I wanted it to be personal for you, so I kept it subtle and worked it into the pattern. It isn’t easy to see unless you’re really looking. I’m glad you like it. The crest is difficult to replicate, I wanted to do a good job with it.”

“You did,” she said, a smile blooming, “and I do really love it.” Her eyes pricked with tears, but she reigned them in.

“It’s a little bigger than the last one,” he said, “so with more training you’ll be able to reach targets which are further away. It’ll be harder to use but you’ve grown a lot in strength and in skill, and even a little in height,” he added with a grin, “so I’m sure you’ll adjust well.”

At his compliment she grinned, too. “I thought we were only supposed to buy a gift for the person whose name we pulled out of the pot,” she teased.

He stretched his arms out and yawned before answering, feigning nonchalance. “Technically it’s not a Festivus gift. It was about time you had an upgrade and it just so happens that I am giving it to you on Winter Festivus day.” His eyes glinted with mischief. “I broke no rules. Yun can’t punish me.”

Yona’s, however, widened with worry. “ _Wha_? Will Yun really punish us for breaking the rules?” she asked in a panic. “You think he’ll deny me breakfast tomorrow?”

Hak lifted an eyebrow. “You bought someone else a gift?”

It was her turn to blush. “Sort of,” she said, looking down suddenly and finding her new bow very interesting all over again.

“Oh,” he said, mildly surprised, “then yes. I heard Yun say that anyone who bought more than one person a gift wouldn’t be allowed food for _two whole days._ ”

At that Yona's gaze shot up. “ _Whaaaa?! Noooo!_ ” she wailed, “I would have eaten more at dinner if I’d-” she stopped when he burst out laughing at her, clutching at his stomach as he doubled over.  “Hak!” she yelled as she marched over to his pack and drew out an arrow from his quiver, “ _I’ll test out my new bow by shooting you._ ”

He lifted his hands in surrender. “Sorry, sorry,” he apologised amid residual chuckles. “It was just too easy.”

She huffed, putting her bow down gently to pull out a piece of paper from a pocket in her dress. “I’m reconsidering whether I want to give you your Festivus gift.”

He stopped laughing completely at that. “Me?” he asked, surprised.

She began blushing as the rare look of shock in his gaze turned to assessment. He had a way of piercing straight through her, as if he could read her heart like it was an open book. It took all of her strength not to toss the folded sheet of paper at him and run away in embarrassment.

“What’s this?” He opened it, genuinely curious, and read.

“Your gift. I didn’t have enough money so…”

“Princess, this is a list of my chores,” he narrowed his eyes in suspicion as they tore themselves away from the paper and peered into her face. “Are you trying to tell me I’m being a slacker?”

Of all his potential reactions, that one had never actually occurred to her. “What? No!”

“Then-”

“You work so hard,” she explained, “you’ve _always_ \- well,” she stopped herself, “maybe not when we were in the palace when you used to take naps _all the time_ but maybe even then you probably used to nap a lot because I was always such hard work to protect-” she was blushing furiously as she struggled to get back to the focus of her speech.

“I didn't nap _all_ the time,” he mumbled, but she was too far into her spiel to notice.

“-but that’s not even the point, you see I- I mean, that is, what I am trying to say is that you do _so much_ \- not just for me but for everyone, but also mainly for me - and you never- you never _ever_ stop. You train me and protect me and the others and always at the sacrifice of yourself and-”

“Princess-”

“-you’re always helping out and you’re always on the lookout. You care about everyone so very much. I’m trying to become strong like you, Hak, but it’s taking a little while so in the meantime I wanted to just-”

“Princess, please, slow down.” Hak placed his hands firmly onto her shoulders, bending slightly so that he was eye-level with her, grabbing her attention. “You’re sounding flustered,” he said and gave her a gentle smile of reassurance. “I don’t mind doing what I do, truly. I work hard because it makes me happy. There’s no reason for you to get so stressed about it, especially when I have so many friends that I can count on to take care of me, too.” Pulling away, he waved the paper briefly. “Thank you for laying out my chores for me in an easy list. I’m grateful, for you and your kind gift. Yun will appreciate how organised I’ll be from now on, it’ll definitely help to make the work easier to accomplish.”

It was Yona’s turn to frown. “That’s not what that is.” _Honestly_ , she thought, _he can be so obtuse sometimes_. It was half cute and half irritating, which sort of made it even more endearing to her. “They’re gifts,” she explained. “The next time you have to do one of those chores I’ll do it for you, instead.” She looked up at him, eyes hopeful that he’d like it. “It’s not much, but even you need a break too, sometimes.”

For a second she worried she’d said something to upset him. He stood perfectly still, his gaze intense and focused entirely on her.

“Hak?” Before she could say anything more he’d gripped her into a fierce hold, pulling her close to him, enveloping her small frame entirely, and then pulled away just as quickly. She’d barely had time to register what had happened.

“Sorry,” he said, smiling broadly and not looking sorry at all, “I was greedy and took two gifts from you instead of one.”

“That’s… that’s ok, I didn’t mind,” she said quietly.

They stood grinning awkwardly at each other for a few moments, happy to be within the presence of the other. 

Eventually Hak cleared his throat. “Maybe we should put our gifts away,” he suggested, “we’ll need to catch up with the others soon or we’ll miss the fireworks.”

“Alright,” she agreed and bent down to pick up her new bow. “Thank you for this,” she said, smiling happily. “Happy Winter Fesitivus, Hak.”

“Happy Winter Festivus, Princess.”


End file.
